Firenote
by Coondog
Summary: When Toph discovers a strange girl outside camp,Sokka can't help but get suspicious. When he finally gets the nerve to investigate, he discovers a shocking secret about the girl they have taken in. PS The beginning is just setting it up.
1. The Firenote

Princess Azula leaned back in her chair, watching her brother make a fool of himself through the window. She was in the palace library, and although she was not much of a reader, the library had huge windows that overlooked the courtyard, where Zuko was constantly practicing his Firebending. She liked to watch him, mostly because it gave her something to laugh at. He was so **weak,** so **dumb**, it was truly amusing. 

Azula watched Zuko take a step backwards and tumble backwards into the fountain, and come up spluttering. She smirked, even though Zuko could not see her, and got up from the chair. It was around noon, and she had nothing to do. Lunch was moot; the cook had gotten himself eaten by a platypus bear two days prior.

She turned around and flicked her hair back from her eyes and looked around. What could she use for entertainment, besides her idiot brother?

Sighing resentfully, Azula walked over to the nearest shelf. It was stuffed with Firebending Scrolls, most of them too advanced for her use. She didn't particularly care, so she randomly snatched a Bending Scroll from the highest shelf. There was a bright, neon yellow note attached to it, which read:  
**STRICTLY FORBIDDEN **

Perfect.

She started to tear off the note, when one of the servant girls walked in. It was a tall, brown-haired girl named Natalia, and Azula hated her. Natalia was really the only competition she had for the position of 'Best Firebender.' Natalia was good, very good, and Azula despised her for it.

"What are you doing here?" Azula barked. "You can't even read!"

Natalia looked shocked for a moment. She obviously hadn't seen Azula when she had entered. Then, an almost apologetic smile split her face. It was the 'almost' that got to Azula.

"Should I say sorry, o great Azula?" Natalia said. The tint of sarcasm in her voice was not subtle. "Do you want me to kiss your feet, o great Azula? I'm sure you'd love to see me grovel. Grovel, grovel, grovel. Happy now?"

Oh, how Azula hated that girl.

"Leave." Azula whispered menacingly. "Leave now, or I'll burn you."

"Oh, I'm scared." Natalia scoffed, a note of derision in her voice. "Oh, help me! I'm gonna be turned to ashes to somebody who can't even top the servant girl!"

Azula forced herself to remain calm. "Ah, alright then. You want to fight." "No, I just want to see what you're holding."   
Azula looked down at the scroll in her hand. The note was still on it. "It's a Firebending Scroll." She snapped. "Happy?"

"No." Natalia said, and tilted her head to the side. "Strictly Forbidden? A little advanced for you, don't ya think?"

Oh, that girl was so irritatingly cocky. So smug. "You want it?" she asked, her tone suddenly sickeningly sweet.

"Yeah, you stupid? If it means beating you at Firebending, sure."

Azula laughed. "Its your funeral." She lobbed the scroll over to the servant girl, who caught it easily. "Let the guards take care of you. Only Firebending Masters, like my father, can read Forbidden scrolls."

Natalia rolled her eyes. "Oh, so you're a master now?" With that, she turned on her heel and left the library. Azula smiled. The guards would figure it out sooner or later.

Within two minutes, she heard shouts and pounding footsteps from down the hall. "Catch the girl!" everyone was yelling. Azula herself didn't quite understand the severity of the law, but all she knew was that it was benefiting her. They'd either chase the servant girl out of the palace, or catch her and put her on trial before her father. Either way, Azula was happy.

Either way, Azula won.


	2. Flim

THREE YEARS LATER

The chill was starting to get to Aang, but he still kept his eyes on the sky. Momo was about to return any moment, and even though everybody was asleep, he had to make sure his faithful lemur was all right.

"Why couldn't I have gone and gotten food?" he muttered to himself. "Momo is just going to come back with something weird."

He was right. Momo came back with a crumpled piece of paper in his paws, which he promptly tried to eat when he landed.

"Give me that." Aang sighed, and grabbed the now-slimy slip of paper from Momo's mouth. He uncrumpled the paper and quickly scanned it, to make sure it was not something important. It was a very old Fire Nation notice, and it read;

_TO ALL FAITHFUL TO THE FIRELORD:_

_An incognito servant has stolen the Firelord's personal bending scroll, the Royal Firenote, from the Royal Palace. The reward for turning in this criminal is 9,000 copper. Dead or Alive (preferably dead)._

It had a rough drawing of a tall girl of about ten in Fire Nation clothes, but her face was poorly sketched and it was near impossible to discern features. Aang peered at it for a second, before thinking, What do I care about the Royal Firenote? This paper is dated for three years ago. It's long gone by now.

He shrugged and tossed the paper over his shoulder. Momo ran after it, salivating.

"That lemur is weird." Said a voice from behind him. He turned around and saw Toph. Aang had not realized she was awake.

"He's a lemur. What can you expect?" he said cheerfully. He honestly didn't feel that optimistic, but if it meant keeping the group's spirits up, then it didn't matter whether he was lying or not.

Toph shook her head and leaned back. "He's still weird."

Aang crawled into his sleeping bag. "Can you keep first watch, Toph?"

"Yeah, sure." Toph said, and then muttered, "Watch. Watch! How am I supposed to keep _watch_?"

Aang groaned.

* * *

Midnight.

Toph wasn't really sleepy at all, so she just sat on the ground with her palms laid flat on the dirt. Everybody else was snoring peacefully, even Momo, who still had a shred of paper hanging out of his mouth.

Toph heard footsteps, from behind where Aapa was sleeping. She was immediately alert, up on her feet in a three-point stance. She furrowed her brow, listening, feeling the rock. The person took a step forward.

Toph immediately 'saw' a tall, strong girl of around thirteen. Her shoes had hundreds of holes in them, and her baggy pants had holes in the knees. Her jacket was threadbare and worn around the elbows.

"Who are you?" Toph whispered to herself. She straightened and crept around Aapa to find out if she could discover what this unexpected visitor was up to. It was not a common occurrence to have a stranger watching from the edge of one's camp.

Toph realized the stranger was looking in her direction, but did not seem to see her. Toph realized she must have stepped on a twig, and the stranger had heard.

"Who's there?" the unfamiliar person said aloud. Toph was listening intently, trying to pick up an accent or dialect of some sort. At least the dialect would give her a clue as to where this weirdo was from, and whether she posed a threat or not.

"Who's there?" she said again. This time, Toph picked up a slight accent. It was very faint, hard to hear, but it was definitely there. A Fire Nation accent.

She planted her right foot firmly in front of her and tore a rock up from the ground. Using a swift punching motion, she thrust the boulder straight at the foreigner and felt it collide a few seconds later. The stranger lost her balance with the impact and thudded to the ground.

"Who are you?" Toph roared. She didn't care if it woke the others up. The last thing she wanted was some Fire Nation spy coming to cause them trouble. Azula was bad enough, but a secretive enemy?

"A friend!" shouted the stranger, and covered her head as Toph raised another boulder. "I didn't mean to startle you! Please, put the rock down!"

"Oh, yeah right." Toph scoffed. However, she let the boulder drop to the ground a few feet away from where she was standing. "Who are you?"

"Like I said, a friend." The stranger said, this time not so loudly. "I don't want to cause you any harm."

"Then why do you talk like you're from the Fire Nation?" Toph asked. "I hear more than most people know. You have a Fire Nation drawl and I can hear it. Now, who are you and where are you from?"

There was a long silence. The stranger shifted slightly, before replying, "The accent can be explained. I was in a Fire Nation prison for about a year. Their way of talking sort of rubbed off, and I haven't been able to shake it." She paused. "And ever since I escaped that prison, I don't have a home. No place in particular."

If this stranger was lying, Toph could barely tell. There was a physical reaction, but that could just be from nervousness. "But who _are_ you?" She said, starting to get frustrated. "I can't trust you if I don't know who you _are_."

"Okay, fine." The girl said, after another pause. "It's Flim." This time, Toph could tell she was lying. But, if she really had escaped from a Fire Nation prison as she had said, then she would want to keep her name a secret. If she didn't, then the Fire Nation could track her down.

"Okay, Flim." Toph said. "Let's see what the others think."


End file.
